Culture picks: what to see, hear and read this month
They love it. We want it. Three red-hot releases
“It’s hard to tell whether this doc is a hoax or not. It starts off legitimately—a guy named Thierry Guetta is making a film about graffiti artists, including Banksy. But the film twists when the two finally meet: Banksy hijacks everything and convinces Guetta to put on his own pop-street-art show in L.A. The story devolves into such absurdity that it feels like the pair cooked it up to take the piss out of themselves and the audience. Real or not, it’s a tremendous, subversive little film.”
—GIUSEPPE ANILE, Co-owner of Marquee Video
Exit Through the Gift Shop, directed by Banksy (Nov. 23)
“The Boss’s unreleased cuts are often just as good as, if not better than, his final picks. When he put together 1978’s legendary Darkness on the Edge of Town, he chose 10 songs from more than 60 possible tracks. The box set features great outtakes from the original marathon recording sessions: ‘One Way Street’ and ‘The Promise,’ plus live favourites ‘Because the Night’ and ‘Fire.’ ”
—ROBERT LAWSON, Manager of Sunrise Records (Sheppard Centre)
The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story, Bruce Springsteen (Nov. 16)
“This fictional memoir by McMaster prof James King is written in the form of a dictionary. I thought it would be deadly, but it’s wonderful. Starting with ‘A,’ Étienne goes through the alphabet and lists specific words to tell the story of his isolated life. How he grew up in an orphanage (he defines ‘leftover’ as a child who hasn’t been adopted after seven years); how he later worked as a bank teller and lived with a family but never got close to anybody. The definitions uncover an incredibly rich life that wasn’t evident on the surface.”
—SHEILA KOFFMAN, Owner of Another Story Bookshop
Étienne’s Alphabet, by James King (Nov. 6)
(Illustrations by Kagan McLeod; Photographs: top courtesy of Mongrel Media; middle courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc.; bottom courtesy of Cormorant Books)
“The Boss’s unreleased cuts are often just as good as, if not better than, his final picks. When he put together 1978’s legendary Darkness on the Edge of Town, he chose 10 songs from more than 60 possible tracks. The box set features great outtakes from the original marathon recording sessions: ‘One Way Street’ and ‘The Promise,’ plus live favourites ‘Because the Night’ and ‘Fire.’ ”
—ROBERT LAWSON, Manager of Sunrise Records (Sheppard Centre)
The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story, Bruce Springsteen (Nov. 16)
“This fictional memoir by McMaster prof James King is written in the form of a dictionary. I thought it would be deadly, but it’s wonderful. Starting with ‘A,’ Étienne goes through the alphabet and lists specific words to tell the story of his isolated life. How he grew up in an orphanage (he defines ‘leftover’ as a child who hasn’t been adopted after seven years); how he later worked as a bank teller and lived with a family but never got close to anybody. The definitions uncover an incredibly rich life that wasn’t evident on the surface.”
—SHEILA KOFFMAN, Owner of Another Story Bookshop
Étienne’s Alphabet, by James King (Nov. 6)
(Illustrations by Kagan McLeod; Photographs: top courtesy of Mongrel Media; middle courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc.; bottom courtesy of Cormorant Books)){kind=link}